


Fair game

by harrypotterwholock



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Awkward Flirting, Bakery and Coffee Shop, Coffee, Coffee Shops, Flirting, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:20:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24341230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harrypotterwholock/pseuds/harrypotterwholock
Summary: Emma, a barista, meets John and Sherlock at the coffee shop she works at. After John hits on her, she makes some deductions about him. Sherlock thereafter tries to test actually how smart she is. When she calls him out on his games, they discuss his hidden feelings for John.
Kudos: 2





	Fair game

# Fair game

She handed the coffee to the customer in front of her when two men entered the coffee. The taller of them was wearing a long coat and had dark, curly hair. The other man was shorter and kept very upright. He seemed to have been in the military once. She watched them as they crossed the cafe and settled down at an empty table by the window.  
"Do I get my change ?!" the customer bluffed after she had forgotten it because of the two mysterious men.  
"Oh, yes, sorry, I was just thinking," she replied, handing him the change.  
After he left, she turned to the coffee machines and started wiping them.

When she finished the first and looked up, she noticed that the smaller man was staring at her. He noticed that she had caught him and winked at her. Ashamed, she looked down and felt her cheeks turn red.  
After a moment she dared to look up again and saw that the second of the two waved her over to order something. She looked around for her colleague and found that she must have gone for lunch, so she had no choice but to take the order herself. 

"Hi, my name is Emma, what can I bring you?" She asked the two when she arrived at the table and pulled her pad out of her belt.  
The man with the dark curly hair answered immediately:  
"A coffee, black and without sugar."  
She scribbled the order on her pad and turned to the other man: "I would like a cup of tea." He cleared his throat and turned his head to the side. "And I wondered if you would go out with me. Here is my business card " 

Perplexed she accepted the card and read the inscription. In a modern, clean script it was written: "Dr. John H. Watson, General Practitioner ”. The other man sighed and gave him a weary look. 

"John let it be, obviously she's not interested in you."  
"Pardon? What do you mean?"  
"You have to start observing and not just watching! When she caught you staring, she looked away to the side. If she had been interested in you, she would have looked down. And when she came to take the order, she turned away from you. People are so easy to see through John, so do yourself a favor and learn to read body language! ”  
John looked surprised and apparently was left without words for the encounter that had taken place between the three of them.  
The other man seemed strangely familiar to her and she wondered where she had heard of him before.  
"You have a pronounced deduction skill. But you shouldn't be too hard on your friend, considering that he is still recovering from his post-traumatic stress disorder. ” 

At these words the two of them looked at her in amazement and then exchanged a conspiratorial look.  
"How do you know? Did you hear about it on the news or are you another genius, like Sherlock? ”John asked curiously. 

With that, she remembered where she'd heard of the taller man before. One of her friends had shown her a newspaper article about a murder that Sherlock had solved.  
"Oh, you're Sherlock Holmes! You already seemed familiar to me, but I could not assign you because I have never seen a photo of you. But no, I haven't heard of you on the news, your PTSD is recognizable by your behavior. Your hand trembled when you entered the cafe. When you talked and distracted for a while, the tremors stopped. From that I conclude that large crowds make you nervous. So you may have witnessed a disaster in which a mass panic broke out. Also, I read from your straight, tight stance that you were in the military, so you probably got PTSD from the war. ” 

Sherlock stared at her and turned his coffee mug between his hands.  
"That's what I mean John. Don't look, observe! You have a knack for deductions, it seems to me. What's your name?"  
He looked her up and down, obviously trying to make a deduction. He looked into her eyes again but was left unsatisfied.  
"My name is Emma, but I think I have to get back to work now. Have a nice day!" she said and went back behind the counter.  
John shook his head and watched her with a smile.  
"How about that? That means competition for you and Mycroft. "  
"We'll see, time to draw her out a bit, ”Sherlock replied. 

He got up from the table and came up to her at the counter.  
“I am fairly impressed with your deductions. Have you always had this gift? "  
"Well, how do I put it, the conclusions just come to me. I can't help noticing these things. "  
Sherlock took a step closer to her and whispered in her ear:  
"You know, when I told John earlier that it was clear you were not interested. I just wanted to prevent him from pestering you. I've been secretly watching you all along. How about if we go out to eat together after your shift? ” 

She turned to him, grabbed his collar, and pulled him closer to her.  
"Oh really? What kind of restaurant do you suggest? ”She returned after deciding to take part in his game.  
Sherlock, sure to have her on the line now, grabbed a strand of her hair and whispered:  
"I know a romantic restaurant just down the street. What do you think?"  
"Don't you think John would be disappointed with you if he knew you were meeting me behind his back?" I asked innocently, looking up at him.  
"Oh John, he'll get over it again. He is already used to the fact that he is not so lucky with women. All of his past relationships didn't last longer than two months, ”he replied, stroking her cheek seductively. 

Now confident of victory, Emma pushed his hand away and took a step back. Sherlock gave her a cool glance.  
"You seem to be smarter than I thought. Fair game." 

He eyed her again and added:  
“If you ever think about taking a different career path, please contact us. You certainly know where to find us. I could use a second assistant. "  
He nodded at her, turned away, and went back to John. 

Most of the subtle deviations from his usual behavior towards John might not be noticed, but they immediately caught Emma's eye. When Sherlock listened to John, he looked at him and didn't distract himself with his cell phone as with other people. Overall, his friendliness seemed honest and not just as a means to squeeze more information out of his interlocutor. 

She continued to watch the two of them until the two got up and put on their coats. When they got to the door, the two looked at her one last time. Sherlock winked at her and held the door open for John. John, on the other hand, gave her a resigned look, nodded one last time, and finally left the cafe with Sherlock.


End file.
